


Balance

by dammitspawk



Category: Red Dwarf (UK TV)
Genre: Gen, Hardlight Rimmer, short and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dammitspawk/pseuds/dammitspawk
Summary: During an accident on Red Dwarf, an opportunity is created when an entire corridor is covered in ice. Of course Lister insists everyone should join him on the rink... whether they can skate or not.
Relationships: Dave Lister/Arnold Rimmer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Balance

**Author's Note:**

> This was a little challenge piece, i was given a prompt and one hour to come up with and write a complete fic. Sorry for any mistakes, it hasn't been edited. Can be set pre or during relationship!

The air was freezing, Rimmer could see Lister’s breath. He was sure he would have been able to see his own if he had any. The environmental controls being down on this deck were one thing, but the exploded fresh water pipe had really put the icing on the cake of this disaster. Or just the _ice._

 _“_ Oh this is just _peachy_ isn’t?” He huffed with a grimace, making his voice go sharp. “This will take days to clean up!”  
  
He looked over at Lister, hoping to see a crushed look on his face as well. That wasn’t what he found however. Instead his roommate was grinning, opened mouth, ear to ear. His own face fell, what was he missing here.

“What is it?” He said in a cautious tone.  
  
“This is great,” Lister looked around the frozen hallway with a glimmer in his eye, “this is- this is… _fantastic!”_

Rimmer frowned at him.

The thing that had Lister smiling was that he realized the ice was thick and stable enough to skate on. And thats how Arnold found himself standing on the edge of the sheet of ice, holding onto the wall for dear life.  
  
Lister had somehow convinced Kryten and Cat to join him in a game of hockey, but calling it that would be generous. Really they’d suspended a net at the end of the ice sheet between the walls of the corridor. They had managed to find hockey sticks but they were, for some reason, all left handed.  
  
The Cat wasn’t interested in playing anyway, he glided up and down the corridor, backwards, forwards, twisting the stick around in his hands. He was more dancing than skating.

The most puzzling thing about this was none of them had ever skated before, except Lister who to be honest was no Elvis Stojko, nor Wayne Gretzky.

Rimmer stood, back up against the wall, and scowled at them all. This was a disaster! A massive mess! They should be cleaning it up, not acting like pigs rolling around in a stye.

Glaring at the others caused him to momentarily forget about the need to maintain constant balance, and slipped slightly. He grabbed onto the pipes stuck to the wall, letting out an alarmed yelp.

Before he could even turn around and stand up straight, Lister was gliding over to him.

“You alright Rimmer?” He asked, arms crossed, as he slid effortlessly towards him.  
  
“No I’m not, thank you for asking!” Lister rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. “This was a stupid idea Lister! A stupid, smeggy, horrible, dumb, stupid, idea!”

Dave just grinned at him shamelessly. Behind him Kryten made a shot at the makeshift net. The puck went right through the holes and he then clambered after it.  
  
“You know Rimmer, if you wanted help you could have just said so.” Rimmer was stubbornly silent. Lister offered his hand.  
  
“Come on, while we have the chance you should at least get out on the ice once.”

Arnold stared at his outstretched hand. He really did want to try. He hadn’t ever skated before and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity. One of those secret longings he would never tell Lister or _anyone_ about. He paused another moment, not at all for dramatic effect, then tentatively put one of his hands in Listers. The scouser’s grin beamed brighter than it had any business to and Rimmer tried to ignore the urge to mimic it.

Lister pulled him gently and reluctantly Rimmer let go of the wall.  
  
“See look at that, not so hard now is it?”

Rimmer was about to reply with a scathing remark when he lost his balance and fell forward again with a high pitched “Eeeep!”

Lister was quick though, and caught his other hand. He took Rimmer’s weight and kept them upright.  
  
“Relax your knees man, you can keep balance with that tension.”

“Easy for you to say! I thought blades were supposed to make the ice _less_ slippery to be on! This is just downright dangerous, I could crack my head open at any moment. No, like I said; this is a terrible idea Lister,” he bit back. He was staring down, looking right at his feet as Lister single handedly moved them across the makeshift rink.

“Not so smarmy now then mister ‘Skating? Of course I can skate, how hard can it _be_ Lister?’” the other man singsonged in his most annoying ‘impression’ of Rimmer.  
  
Rimmer finally looked up at him. Lister was closer to him than Rimmer had thought, his face mere inches away as he chuckled at the stiff hologram. Without his consent, his heart caught in his throat as Lister’s eyes glimmered back at him. Rimmer’s hands tightened around his roommates.

And then his roommate's expression changed dramatically as he lost his balance, falling backwards onto the ice… and bringing Rimmer with him.

For a terrifying second, Rimmer thought he’d cracked open his head and died on impact.

“Lister!” He exclaimed, trying to prop himself up from his position lying half on, half beside him on the ice.

It took a moment of heart-stopping dread in which Rimmer was completely sure Lister had perished, but then Rimmer heard him. He was laughing.

 _“Lister,_ ” he said again but this time with annoyance. “I told you this was a _bad idea.”_


End file.
